Small Business Today Magazine MAR 2015 IMPACT STONE DESIGN | Page 18
EDITORIALFEATURE
Doing Business
with the Israelis
By Ludmila (Mila) Rusakova Golovine
I
srael is one of the most interesting countries
on Earth. Like the United States, Israel is an
ethnic melting pot of cultures, religions, and
immigrants. Despite its small size and population, Israel is considered the superpower of the
Middle East due to its rapidly growing and widely diversified economy, its stable democracy, and
its impressive military force. In 2013, Israel was
rated 19th among 187 countries by the United
Nations’ Human Development Index classifying it
as a highly developed country. This rating is well
deserved. According to a study conducted by the
Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, the United
States Patent and Trademark Office has approved
more patents to Israeli inventors than to any other nation of the G-7 countries!
Not only is Israel a top diamond exporter, it is
also considered the most advanced in diamond
polishing. Israeli technology is used in the international diamond industry’s cutting, bruting, and
automatic polishing machines as well as computer-aided design systems. In the last 18 years, the
number of boutique wineries in Israel has leapt
exponentially from seven to nearly 300. The quality of these new wines is attracting the world’s top
connoisseurs. .
in ICT technologies, safety and security equipment and services, renewable energy technologies, defense equipment, medical technologies,
and biotechnology products. Power generation
and education/training also represent good opportunities. Road technology and infrastructure
projects could offer millions of dollars’ worth
of export opportunities for U.S. firms over the
next five years, especially since Israel adopted
U.S. standards in intelligent transportation systems.
In 1985, Israel became the first country ever to
conclude a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the
United States. With the exception of agricultural
products, the United States-Israel FTA has eliminated nearly all tariffs on trade and administrative import licensing requirements between the
two countries. Thanks in large part to the FTA,
U.S. companies exported billions of dollars worth
of goods and services to Israel, making Israel the
largest U.S. export market in the Middle East. All
of these factors make Israel an excellent place to
invest and do business.
In terms of language, English is widely spoken
in the business community and in government
offices, but knowing and using a few Hebrew
Science and Technology in Israel is one of the words, especially introductory phrases and
country’s most developed sectors. The percent- greetings, can be useful. Hebrew and Arabic
age of Israelis engaged in scientific and technologi- are the two official languages of Israel. English
cal inquiry and the amount spent on research and is the third and principal international language
development (R&D) in relation to gross domestic and Russian is also prevalent. Most Israelis are
product (GDP) is the second highest in the world. multilingual.
Israeli scientists have contributed to the advancement of agriculture, computer sciences, electronIsrael’s business environment has no particics, genetics, health care, optics, solar energy, and ular business protocols. It mainly follows U.S.
various fields of engineering. Israel is home to style conventions, making most U.S. businessmajor players in the hi-tech industry, has one of people feel very comfortable in doing business
the world’s most technologically-literate popula- there. American business travelers will find
tions in the country, and has a software industry business dress in both the public and private
second only to California’s Silicon Valley.
sectors to be much less formal than in the U.S.,
although